


Pieces of the People We Love

by mistonthewater



Category: Saw (Movies)
Genre: Choose Your Own Adventure, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Reader-Insert, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:28:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27356509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistonthewater/pseuds/mistonthewater
Summary: You are the newest apprentice in John Kramer's gaggle of goons. You've found a strange, but reliable family in your fellow apprentices, but the dynamic between you, Mark, and Amanda has been becoming increasingly strange. You and Amanda have been the closest for longest, going so far as to share the same living space, but Mark has an undeniable pull on you that you're dying to explore. It's driven the two of them to butt heads all the more often, and you're at a loss for what to do about it. Luckily, Dr. Lawrence Gordon is here to offer you a bit of advice...as well as a very important choice to make.(First chapter fits both routes; Chapter Two will be the Amanda ending, and Chapter Three will be for Hoffman!)*Rated Explicit for eventual smut in Chapters 2 & 3, and canon typical violence*
Relationships: Amanda Young/Reader, Mark Hoffman/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	Pieces of the People We Love

**Author's Note:**

> As stated in the summary, this short fic will have two endings! <3 Reader is AFAB, but I have tried to mention gender specifics as little as possible in the first chapter, which is SFW. Please enjoy, and leave a comment if you'd like!
> 
> My Tumblr is: https://mist-onthe-water.tumblr.com/  
> Feel free to follow me there for more frequent fic updates and notices! <3

John Kramer had saved your life. Even more than that, he had enriched it. Without that first encounter and subsequent rehabilitation, you would have never met your closest friends and now fellow accomplices. Sure, there were tensions amidst the lot of you, as there were in any family, but life at the Gideon Meat Packing Plant was at least never boring. 

First, you learned, there had been Lawrence Gordon. He was the most pragmatic and no-nonsense of Jigsaw’s students, and when you needed advice and didn’t want to bother John, he was your go to. Anytime a trap set up required a more precise medical procedure, he was your man, and his offer of assistance was always kept in mind while you designed your own tests and games. He was a necessary piece of the puzzle in your crew, and a good friend too.

Next came Mark Hoffman. Being a local detective made him somewhat of an unorthodox pick, but it also lent its own unique weight and benefit to your cause. He always seemed busy, which was true, you supposed, but the few interactions you’d had one on one were nothing short of interesting. He was quietly curious about your work in a way that he wasn't with the other two, and would offer a grumbled word of advice here or there when you asked. The two of you admittedly knew very little about one another, and weren’t close, but an unspoken bond had organically developed that made you smile all the same...even if he was a bit of a meathead.

Then there was Amanda Young. She was endlessly lovely, if a bit guarded, but slightly less so with you. The hardship she’d endured had cultivated her stony exterior, but when the two of you were alone, she allowed herself to be a bit more soft. You assumed it was the bond between women that drew you closer to one another, and that was just fine with you. She was intelligent, strong, beautiful, and so much more, and you affirmed that in her whenever you could. Amanda would sing your praises in turn, and it wasn’t uncommon for the both of you to mastermind trap plots together. She was by far your closest friend, and you’d even come to share living space at the meat plant, cuddling on colder nights and taking turns keeping watch when the local police force threatened itself a bit too close to home.

With so many colorful characters in the cast, it wasn’t hard to imagine that life was fairly interesting on the day to day. John’s riddles and cryptic instructions were enough to sort through on their own, but the addition of four aspiring apprentices spiced things up all the more. Gordon tended to not show up until he was needed, but you and Amanda were a constant presence. That said, where you and Mark were on relatively positive terms, the same could hardly be said for he and Amanda. The two of them were constantly trying to one up each other, and sometimes their bickering made your brain hurt. You could only imagine what it did to John with the ever worsening tumor in his head, and so you tried to break up their spats whenever they arose. Sometimes that was easier said than done, however, and today’s point of tension was far beyond what you could have ever predicted.

It had all started with you at your desk in the workshop; a fairly normal scene, but one that seemed destined to draw all sorts of attention today. John had given you an assignment to design a few new traps for his latest set-up, and you were glad to have the chance to flex your creative muscle for him. Your creative streak had seemed to spark Amanda’s own, and the woman was in a room farther back toying with a few contraptions while you sketched out your ideas. It was while you set to drawing up an executioner’s block of sorts that Hoffman appeared, the man bundled up tight with snow stuck to his coat and hair as he trudged up the stairs and towards the work station. You couldn’t help but smirk to yourself at the sight, and he frowned from behind his scarf.

“What?” Mark scoffed as he pulled the fabric away to reveal the depth of his scowl, “Something funny?”

“Yeah,” you grinned all the wider, but merely returned to your work, “Cold one out there, huh, Mark?”

“Yeah,” he mimicked with a slight roll of his eyes before hanging up his coat nearby, “It’s late. You’re normally asleep by now.”

“Typically, but John gave me a new project,” you answered with a small hum, continuing to diligently trace blueprints as Mark’s footsteps drew closer to your station, “Inspiration struck, and now I’m trying to conceptualize a few new puzzles for him.”

Mark hummed in understanding as he slowed to a stop just behind where you sat. You were fully aware of his presence looming over your shoulder as you worked, but you didn’t mind. He didn’t tend to say much, and most of the time you spent together was in relative silence. Mark seemed content in watching you work in silent curiosity for a time, but as he reached out to parse through a few of your existing sketches, he couldn’t help but pose a few questions.

“Explain this one to me,” Hoffman demanded, tapping a sketch of a man tied to an anchor.

“That one?” you piped up, gaze flittering towards the blueprint with a quiet hum, “I haven’t gotten too far past the initial conceptualization yet, but it’s based on the martyrdom of Saint Clement. He was an early Pope, and Catholic tradition says he was tied to an anchor, thrown overboard, and martyred at sea. I thought it might make a solid basis for a trap.”

Hoffman smirked in light amusement in turn, “Guess so. Can’t say I would have thought of pulling inspiration from somewhere like that. It’s pretty unique.”

“Thanks,” you returned with a small smile of your own, “I guess all those years of Catholic school are finally good for something; these designs are each based on different martyrdoms. There’s Saint Paul on the chopping block, Peter on the inverted cross, Lawrence on the grill...”

“Lawrence?” Hoffman suddenly cut in, his smirk widening considerably, “Don’t worry; I won’t tell Gordon that you’re thinking about tossing him on the coals just yet.”

“Mark!” your face scrunched up in distaste, but you couldn’t help but laugh in turn, “No, there’s an actual saint named Lawrence who was actually burned alive. Rest assured that I won’t be putting anyone but our test subjects into these.”

“Damn. You really had me going for a minute there,” Mark snorted before taking a closer look at the designs you mentioned before. He seemed genuinely interested in what you’d drawn up, and he couldn’t hold his tongue for long, “Ain’t this sacrilegious or something?”

“Mildly. But I don’t care,” you shot back with a crooked grin.

The quiet laugh that escaped Hoffman warmed your heart in an unexpected way, and you were glad to continue talking him through your ideas as he pulled up a chair. In turn, he helped to flesh out the more intricate mechanics of your blueprints, providing both practical and sadistic advice alike.

“No, see; if you tie them up this way, it’s more difficult to escape,” Mark explained, the two of you mulling over the anchor trap more closely. He picked up a pencil to start marking, but caught your gaze just before he did so, “...Can I?”

“Sure,” you returned with a small smile, glad to lean in a little closer and watch him work, “I’m all ears.”

“Yeah...Like I said, It makes the trap more difficult, but not impossible,” Hoffman advised with a tiny smirk of his own as he added the notes to the margins, “You’ll want to go for the anchor hitch knot here. It’s stronger, and even keeps it on theme,” he chuckled again before turning his gaze back to you, his face suddenly far closer than it had been moments before, “We’ve got plenty of rope laying around. I could show you, if you want.”

Though you wanted to believe that there was no double meaning laced into Mark’s words, something about the smirk on his face told you otherwise. Either way, you weren’t given more than a moment or two to flounder before Amanda stepped onto the scene and cleared her throat from the doorway just behind you.

“What was that?” Amanda frowned as Mark turned to offer her a smug smirk instead, “Care to share with the class, Mark?”

“Yeah. I’m just offering a bit of practical advice,” Mark returned, easily entertained by the way Amanda’s scowl deepened, “Is that a problem?”

“She doesn’t need your advice,” Amanda pressed, stalking forward to rest a light hand on your shoulder. Her gaze was nothing short of piercing as she continued to stare Hoffman down.

“Doesn’t seem like she minds it,” Mark shrugged, though the smugness in his features never faded for an instant.

“Everything is fine, Amanda,” you assured her with an easy chuckle, though you were quick to rise to your feet and extract yourself from the situation, “All the same, I have been at this for quite a while. I think it’s time for me to turn in.” 

Amanda only stopped glaring Mark’s way as she noticed the fatigue in your features, and she was glad to take you by the hand in turn.

“I think so too. You’ve been working hard all night,” Amanda pressed with a gentle squeeze of your hand, “I’m done tinkering for now too, so we can head back together if you’d like.”

Mark raised an eyebrow at the scene, but kept his mouth shut in favor of looking over your blueprints for a few moments longer. You wanted to say something more, but with the gentle hold Amanda had on your hand, you couldn’t help but follow her lead.

“Let’s do that,” you answered with a smile as Amanda began to tug you off further back into the workshop. You offered Mark a few final words over your shoulder all the same, “Night, Mark. Thanks for the help.”

Hoffman waved you off in turn, and you could have sworn a shred of that smug smirk from before still haunted his features. You weren’t able to stare long enough to find out though before Amanda had tugged you all the way back into your shared living quarters. A few spare parts and scraps were scattered about the table from her tinkering, but rather than put things away, she seemed much happier to pull you down into bed and close to her chest instead.

“I was about to tell you to come to bed anyway. All the better since that dickhead’s prowling around,” Amanda grumbled tiredly against your hair, “Since when did he decide to start being helpful, huh?”

“Mandy...” you whined quietly, nuzzling closer to her under the blankets, “It’s nothing to worry about. Nothing happened.”

“Nothing?” Amanda echoed, staring down a bit more pointedly your way.

“Nothing. Really,” you reassured her, “Mark’s just awkward is all. Even he knows that.”

“Tch, something like that, I guess...Whatever. I don’t want to talk about him,” Amanda grumbled before tucking your head snug under her chin, “Just relax and get some sleep already. You’re gonna get sick if you stay up late all the time, dummy.”

Despite the ice in Amanda’s tone, you knew better than to believe that she was actually upset with you. If anything, it would be Mark that she tortured in her dreams that evening, and you were just glad to have the opportunity to doze off against her chest. Still, the odd encounter between her and Mark left you perplexed. Perhaps a third person perspective would be what you needed to get to the bottom of things. It was with that notion in mind that you called up Lawrence Gordon the very next morning to meet for a cup of coffee on the west side of town, the two of you seated at your usual table in the cafe window.

“So, what’s the issue?” Lawrence asked as he mindlessly stirred his coffee, despite taking it black, “You said over the phone that something weird happened at the warehouse last night...Though that’s not to say things are never not weird in that neck of the woods.”

Your brow furrowed pensively as you stared into your own mug. What had even happened in the first place? You supposed that just telling the story in the order that it had occurred would be best, and Lawrence listened with an attentive ear all the while. Still, the longer you spoke for, the wider the smug smirk on his face became, and you couldn’t help but become increasingly irritated at the sight.

“...And that’s the gist of it. Long story short, Amanda got pissy with Mark for helping me out, which isn’t out of the ordinary, but something was just...different this time,” you finished before offering Gordon an abrupt huff, “What’s so funny? Did you somehow crack the case in the past five minutes, and have just been waiting for me to finish?”

Lawrence laughed at the accusation, and he offered you a confident nod, “Oh, I think I have. It’s no secret that those two can’t stand each other, but I think the situation we’ve got on our hands at the moment is a bit more...delicate, than just that,” he took a long sip of his coffee before staring a bit more pointedly your way, “Tell me something. Have you ever stopped to think about just why it is that those two...melt a little around you?”

“Melt?” you pouted at the assertion, “I don’t know that I’d call it that. Sure, Amanda’s nicer to me, but that’s just because I’m not you or Mark. And Mark...well, he’s just strange.”

Gordon laughed again, but shook his head, “True. That’s all true. But  _ really  _ think about it. What other reason could there be?”

“Because I’m...the newest? And they’re not sick of me yet?”

Gordon’s trademark smirk reappeared, and he shook his head, “That’s cute, but I don’t think so,” he chuckled to himself before dropping another lump of sugar in your mug, just the way you liked it, “They get at each other more often when you’re around because they’re jealous. They’ve gotta be. I mean, come on, seriously? You sleep with Amanda every night,” he offered you a knowing stare, “And Hoffman doesn’t like  _ anybody, _ but he’s fascinated by you for some godforsaken reason. And now that those two realities have started to clash, well...That’s just a recipe for disaster.”

“Larry!” you couldn’t help but flush a bit at the assertion, but the longer you thought on the matter, the more it began to make sense. It was true; neither Amanda nor Mark were the most...sociable folks, so the level of compassion they both offered you was abnormal. And if Lawrence was  _ this  _ sure about it? There really couldn’t be another answer. You groaned and placed your face in your hands, “...You’re right. I know you are. I just didn’t want to admit it. So, what do I do?”

“While I usually  _ do  _ have all the answers, I don’t think I can make that decision for you, kid,” Lawrence huffed as he set his mug aside, “The way I see it, you’ve got a few options here. You can ignore this whole thing, pretend you don’t know what’s going on and wait for it to inevitably blow up in your face, or you can take charge and pick your ending,” he offered you a playful wink, “So, what’s it gonna be, huh? Amanda’s bound to crack pretty soon, or you could take Mark up on his offer to...show you the ropes.”

You reached across the table to playfully smack Gordon in the arm, but you knew in your bones that he was right. All of the bickering and headbutting between Amanda and Hoffman would come to an explosive head if you didn’t take action. It was either Mark or Amanda...and it was time to make your choice.


End file.
